The Generation Equality Forum held in Paris June 30 - July 2, 2021 was livestreamed to over 50,000 participants around the world. U.N. Women, political leaders, feminist movement leaders, corporate executives and activists gathered to address gender inequality, including the disproportionate impact the pandemic has had on women and girls, and to commit to action that will accelerate global progress over the next five years, by 2026.

The last time a gender equality conference of this scale was held was the 1995 Beijing World Conference on Women where Hillary Clinton made headlines when she stated, “Women’s rights are human rights.” This time, a commitment to action was emphasized: $40 billion confirmed over 5 years by governments, donors, and corporations — the largest amount of investment to advance gender equality and women’s rights recorded to-date.

Organizers focused on catalyzing action in six thematic areas: gender-based violence, economic justice, sexual and reproductive health rights, climate justice, technology and innovation, feminist movements and leadership. “The funding will go toward instituting hundreds of new gender-focused policy proposals,” reported The New York Times. As an outcome of the event, ASU now co-leads as founding partner in the Gender & Environment Data Alliance supporting the SDG & Beyond Task Force Stream 3: Future Thinking Beyond the SDGs. The purpose? To develop new indicators at the intersect of gender and sustainability to be piloted in the 2021 Gender Equality and Governance Index.